Brush Up Your Shakespeare

[Subdeacon Joe]

The comment by Mr. Bob about Polonius got me to browsing.  Wonderful speech, and very sage advice:
 

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Yet here, Laertes? Aboard, aboard, for shame!

The wind sits in the shoulder of your sail

And you are stayed for. There, my blessing with thee.

And these few precepts in thy memory

Look thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue,

60Nor any unproportioned thought his act.

Be thou familiar but by no means vulgar.

Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried,

Grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel,

But do not dull thy palm with entertainment

65Of each new-hatched, unfledged comrade. Beware

Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in,

Bear ’t that th' opposèd may beware of thee.

Give every man thy ear but few thy voice.

Take each man’s censure but reserve thy judgment.

70Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,

But not expressed in fancy—rich, not gaudy,

For the apparel oft proclaims the man,

And they in France of the best rank and station

Are of a most select and generous chief in that.

75Neither a borrower nor a lender be,

For loan oft loses both itself and friend,

And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

This above all: to thine own self be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,

80Thou canst not then be false to any man.

Farewell. My blessing season this in thee.

 

That site also provided a "translation" into contemporary English (I'll not say "modern English" as The Bard did compose in modern English).  Talk about pressing the juice out of something:
 

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You’re still here? Shame on you—get on board! The wind is filling your ship’s sail, and they’re waiting for you. Here, I give you my blessing again. And just try to remember a few rules of life. Don’t say what you’re thinking, and don’t be too quick to act on what you think. Be friendly to people but don’t overdo it. Once you’ve tested out your friends and found them trustworthy, hold onto them. But don’t waste your time shaking hands with every new guy you meet. Don’t be quick to pick a fight, but once you’re in one, hold your own. Listen to many people, but talk to few. Hear everyone’s opinion, but reserve your judgment. Spend all you can afford on clothes, but make sure they’re quality, not flashy, since clothes make the man—which is doubly true in France. Don’t borrow money and don’t lend it, since when you lend to a friend, you often lose the friendship as well as the money, and borrowing turns a person into a spendthrift. And, above all, be true to yourself. Then you won’t be false to anybody else. Good-bye, son. I hope my blessing will help you absorb what I’ve said.

Good GAWD! What dreck. 

Now, re my subject line:
 

 

[Alpo]

James Whitmore is a better dancer than Keenan Wynn.

 

Been a while since I've seen Kiss Me Kate )and even longer since I've seen The Taming of the Shrew). I forgot how good he was.

[John Kloehr]

Made me remember I have been wanting to make time for this movie:

 

 

 

[Sedalia Dave]

 

 

 

[Utah Bob #35998]

I must admit having a thing for Emma Thompson after I watched this. 

 

[Subdeacon Joe]

7 minutes ago, Utah Bob #35998 said:

I must admit having a thing for Emma Thompson after I watched this. 

 

 

Lisa and I really like that version.  Especially the portraile of the Constable.

 

 

The supporting actors of the Tuscan Chefs Regiment are pretty good too:

 

[Cyrus Cassidy #45437]

Pard,

 

I don't know if you caught it on the other thread, but I happen to be a huge Shakespeare-o-phile.  About two years ago, I found myself in England on official business and traveled most of the central, north, and eastern portions.  I had business up in Yorkshire one day.  The following day I had nothing to do but drive 6.5 hours back down to London for a flight out the day after.  That travel time is counted as my work day, so it was a 6.5 hour work day for me.

 

However, on the way to London from Yorkshire is a well-known little village called Stratford-Upon-Avon, the birthplace and home of William Shakespeare.  So, of course, I made the pilgrimage.  I have dozens of pictures, but these are of his home.  Remember, he made leather gloves as a profession to pay the bills -- writing and acting didn't pay well -- hence the glove making shop.